You’ve earned a B.S. in biology…now what?

- Dr. C’s practical career tipTM: It is never too early to start planning your future
Career services at Shepherd University
- Shepherd has an entire office devoted to helping you further your own professional or academic career
- Many tutorials around grad school and job topics are available (resume/CV, interviews, personal statements, etc.)

What can I do with my degree in biology?
- There are many different career paths available in the biological sciences
- Some of these are not obvious, but could be the most interesting and/or fulfilling to you
- In some cases education beyond the B.S. level is required

Employment you can expect as an…
- Career positions in biology (including salary, benefits, responsibilities) are generally commensurate with your level of experience and/or education
- Undergraduate student: internship (paid or unpaid) working with someone else
- B.S. or M.S. degree: technician/assistant; somewhat independent, performs key tasks within parameters set by the boss
- Ph.D./M.D.: guides overall mission, makes decisions

“Why should I consider getting an advanced degree?”
- Many people are tired after four years of college and don’t want more school…
- current economic trends do play a role
- Consider whether you might want:
- To do advanced work in a subject
- guide your own research/activities
- A profession that requires specialization
- skill set requires more advanced classes
- A job that requires an advanced degree
- e.g. some government positions
- Graduate school directories:

Where can biology take you?
- Academic and hospital research
- Biotechnology
- Dentistry
- Ecology
- Environmental science
- Food industries
- Forensic science
- Gov’t agencies (FBI, FDA, DNR, NASA, USDA)
- Graduate school
- Law
- Medicine
- Nursing
- Pharmaceuticals
- Physical therapy
- Physician assistant
- Public health
- Science writing or journalism
- Veterinary medicine
- Wildlife management
- Science Communication

Biological Research
- Being a part of a new discovery is exciting!
- This course: give you the taste of a long-term research project
- Research careers are possible at many levels, in many settings, and in many different capacities
- Science has entered a new realm of BIG data
- combining data sets to understand larger patterns
- You might like a research career if you:
- Enjoy problem solving
- Working with your hands (in a lab or outside)
- Don’t mind an unconventional schedule

Disciplines of biology-related research
- Biomedical Research: physiology, pharmacology, biochemistry, molecular biology, bacteriology, virology, anatomy, neuroscience, cell biology, developmental biology, oncology, genetics, immunology, space physiology, embryology, kinesiology
- Biological research in the field: agriculture, botany, horticulture, plant taxonomy, paleobotany, evolutionary biology, phycology, ecology, environmental science, ichthyology, forensic biology, forensic anthropology, parasitology, entomology, ornithology, marine biology, vertebrate zoology, herpetology, wildlife biology, invertebrate zoology, biophysics, bioethics, conservation science
- Data analytics: includes both fields above


Research settings
- The setting in which research is conducted determines the questions that will be investigated
- Each setting has advantages and disadvantages
- Academic – small primarily undergrad institution (Shepherd)
- Great freedom, undergrad students
- low budget, lack of equipment
- Academic – large research institution (WVU)
- Great freedom, advanced equipment, graduate students
- constant scramble for grant money
- Industrial – biotech, pharmaceutical, agriculture (Pfizer, Monsanto)
- Advanced equipment, staff focused on a single task
- No freedom
- Government (Department of Defense)
- Some degree of freedom
- Red tape, scramble for money

Healthcare opportunites are vast

Government careers
- All levels of government (federal, state, local) employ biologists.
- Environmental regulator (rivers and streams, fish and wildlife, forest management)
- Park ranger or interpreter
- Water quality
- Waste management
- County extension agent
- Science policy
- Food safety
- Drug approval
- Occupational health and safety
- Biodefense
- Other careers work with gov’t to further scientific goals:
- Administrator/Researcher for a nonprofit or health group
- Lobbyist (science, technology, and education)

Education
- Educators teach others about biology and its impact on their lives
- K-12 teacher
- Technical training school teacher
- University/college professor
- Less formal science educator—museums, parks, internet
- Work with publishers on science outreach materials
- Work for nonprofit on science education outreach
- You might like an education career if you:
- Enjoy working with students
- Want to help shape the next generation of scientists
- Can communicate and present effectively

Administrative/management careers in biology
- These positions provide support to others carrying out biological research or education
- Professional societies
- Grants administrator (government or nonprofit)
- University administrator (office of research, grants, compliance, safety)
- Project management at pharmaceutical or biotechnology company
- You might like an administrative career if you:
- Have strong organizational and writing skills
- Can communicate effectively with a variety of stakeholders

Scientific communication careers
- There are many forms of scientific writing and/or editing
- Scholarly publishing—editorial assistant
- Technical writing
- Marketing
- University or professional society media relations
- Government
- Journalism (including the internet)
- Scientific/medical illustration
- You might like a writing career if you:
- Are a strong written communicator
- Have outstanding research or investigative skills
- Enjoy working under deadlines

Related Industries (Biology skills are transferrable!)
- Pharmaceutical / Biotech / Medical
- Market Research
- Regulatory affairs
- Quality control
- Sales and marketing
- Product development and testing
- Aerospace
- Scientific Consultation
- Entrepreneurship
- Brewing
- Baking
- Law (patent, environmental, medical)
- Bioinformatics
- Biostatistics
- Public Relations

For next time (bring laptop)
- Figure out what you want to do with your life
- Come up with a list of of jobs types that interest you
